Germany and the United States reached a compromise on Wednesday (July 21) on the construction of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline supported by Russia.According to the agreement, Germany will provide assistance for Ukraine’s energy security, with an initial donation 148.3 million euros.
The headline of the German newspaper is “The Way Out for Germany to Buy Out” do Following the agreement reached between Germany and the United States on Beixi No.2.
The agreement requires Germany to provide funds to Ukraine in exchange for the United States to withdraw its threat of sanctions against companies involved in pipeline construction, which Washington believes is a threat to European energy security.
“I am very happy that we are again pursuing our common goals and beliefs with the United States, including in Russia and energy policy, and we have also been able to reach a constructive solution to the Beixi 2 issue,” said Heiko Maas, German Diplomacy minister.
For Ukraine, Russia’s gas transportation revenue is 2 billion euros. “For us,’energy security’ is more than just a word,” said Ukrainian President Volodmir Zelensky. do.
The agreement does not foresee that Germany will all be on par with the 2 billion euros.However, it does Germany pledged to maintain Ukraine’s role as a gas transit country and “use all available influence to promote the extension of the country’s current natural gas transit arrangements for up to 10 years”, which will expire in 2024.
Washington believes that the agreement is a pragmatic way to resolve disputes, because the pipeline is 98% complete and is of strategic importance to Germany’s future natural gas supply.
The agreement is also a follow-up to the climate partnership signed between Germany and the United States on July 15, which established the goal of further “Energy Transition, Energy Efficiency and Energy Security in Ukraine”.
“Neither Obama, Trump nor Biden can persuade Germany to abandon the project. It is about to be completed. Unfortunately but true,” Democratic Senator Chris Murphy wrote on Twitter. He added that without this deal, Ukraine would have nothing.
Ukraine and Poland condemn the deal
in a Joint StatementUkraine and Poland condemned the agreement, claiming that the Beixi-2 project “created political, military, and energy threats to Ukraine and Central Europe, and at the same time increased the possibility of Russia’s destabilizing the security situation in Europe, and caused differences between NATO and EU member states. Long-lived.”
“We call on the United States and Germany to fully resolve the security crisis in our region,” the statement continued, adding that “Russia is the only beneficiary of the situation.”
The statement concluded: “Ukraine and Poland will work with their allies and partners to oppose NS2 until a solution is developed to resolve the security crisis caused by NS2.”
Ukrainian harvest
Compared with Ukraine’s annual income of 2 billion euros as a natural gas transit country, Germany’s investment is relatively small: a green fund that has not yet been established and nominated a special envoy, with 70 million US dollars (59.3 million euros) to help Ukraine phase out coal.
The stated goal of the Green Fund is to support Ukraine’s energy transition, energy efficiency and energy security. Germany and the United States pledged to attract 1 billion U.S. dollars (847.4 million euros) of investment, including investment from the private sector.
As far as the United States is concerned, it does not provide financial assistance to Ukraine, but promises to support the green fund through technical assistance and policy support “in line with the fund’s objectives.”
The fund will also support the development of hydrogen energy in Ukraine, which German politicians believe will play a “key role” in Europe’s future hydrogen supply.
Germany has negotiated with Ukraine on investment in hydrogen infrastructure. The Minister of Economy, Peter Altmaier, stated in May that Germany has prepared 2 billion euros for international investment in hydrogen energy projects, a move he and his Ukrainian counterparts proposed.
Another gain for Ukraine is the prospect of full integration into the world’s largest European power grid. As of now, only a small part of Ukraine has been connected to the grid, but the agreement predicts that Germany will coordinate with the European Union and the United States Agency for International Development to provide technical assistance for this purpose.
Joining the European Union is Ukraine’s long-term policy goal, and Ukraine has taken measures to integrate more closely with Europe.
Earlier this month, Kiev also signed a cooperation agreement with the European Union to develop raw material supply for the EU battery industry.
[Edited by Frédéric Simon]
